I would offer that the 2024 presidential election will be a Jane Austen election, with “Pride and Prejudice” represented by former President Donald Trump, and “Sense and Sensibility” represented by President Joe Biden.

Trump does not like America. He doesn’t believe in our elections. If he wins, he is OK with it, but if (when) he loses, it is because the election was “rigged.” Trump doesn’t believe in our justice system, either. If he wins the case, he is OK with it, but if (indeed, when) he loses, the system is somehow stacked against him. Why should he be president when he doesn’t believe in the country’s fundamental institutions? Trump isn’t qualified to oversee a Little League game, never mind to preside over the nation.

Trump’s problem is that – despite the mounting evidence – he doesn’t see himself as a loser. He lost the case that E. Jean Carroll brought against him for sexual abuse, to the tune of $88 million. He lost the 2020 presidential election and more than 60 of his allegations of election fraud were dismissed. Trump lost on all 34 counts of the falsification of business records case in New York City. As each day and court case passes, Trump looks more and more like a loser to me.

Trump is all mouth and little substance. He is concerned with ruling, not with governing. Governing in America requires compromise, and compromise is not in Trump’s vocabulary. As such, he is not a respected leader. Trump turned over 14 cabinet officers during his tenure as president, more than the three previous presidents combined. The Trump approach is the very essence of “Pride and Prejudice.” His attitude toward America’s NATO allies, the folks with whom we rebuilt the world after WWII, displays the same arrogance. Trump is not good for America.

Against this is the “Sense and Sensibility” of President Biden. Biden successfully deployed COVID-19 vaccines. He also facilitated the unsnarling of our logistics chains due to the pandemic. All around, it was a stellar performance of public service in the interest of the nation.

Biden has successfully championed democracy by defending Ukraine from Russian aggression, without triggering World War III. Despite Russian provocations and spectacularly tempting opportunities to attack the Russian aggressors directly, the Biden administration has executed disciplined restraint and avoided direct confrontation with the Russians. This restraint, and the effective support we have provided Ukraine are the marks of strong, effective leadership. Ukraine did not capitulate, and is in fact holding its own. And due largely to Biden’s leadership, NATO has strengthened itself by adding Sweden and Finland to its ranks, and closing those ranks against Russian aggression.

Biden believes in America; he has served the nation as a public servant for more than 40 years. He is willing to exercise compromise to move the nation forward. While the southern border situation is not his top priority, he did succeed in putting together a bipartisan compromise to address it. It was a loss for the country that both Trump’s pride and prejudice sank the deal. Biden effectively governed, addressing his adversaries’ priorities, while Trump was motivated purely by power considerations.

In November 2024, America does not need the pride or prejudice of Trump; it needs the sense and sensibility, indeed the sagacity, of Biden.

Does what I write anger you? Perhaps you should ask why. It is often the inconvenient truths that raise our ire. If you identify as Republican, I would offer that there is room in America for differences in policy priorities, but that the politics of loyalty to a personality went out with the American Revolution. Donald Trump does not respect the rule of law that made America.